PATENTS & POTIONS

Entering the Pharmaceutical Century
The era of predictable and safe drugs that we now enjoy did not begin until the end of the 19th century. BY MARK S. LESNEY

SALVING WITH SCIENCE

The Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression
This era of vitamins and hormones also witnessed the development of new drugs and vaccines. BY RICHARD A. PIZZI

ANTIBIOTICS AND ISOTOPES

Swingtime
Like the music of the Big Bands, Big Pharma zoomed the antibiotic era into full swing with a host of WWII-stimulated technological advances. BY JENNIFER B. MILLER

PRESCRIPTIONS AND POLIO

Postwar progress
As America turned from world war to cold war, the economy and technology prospered, and a new vaccine brought victory over an old scourge, infantile paralysis. BY BRYAN D. TWEEDY AND MARK S. LESNEY

ANODYNES AND ESTROGENS

The Pharmaceutical Decade
Against a backdrop of civil unrest, war, political assassinations, and men on the moon, drug use exploded for better and for worse. BY RANDALL FREY AND MARK S. LESNEY 

CHEMISTRY, CANCER, AND ECOLOGY

Environments of health
Concerns over cancer and carcinogens grew against a backdrop of lingering warfare, political scandals, and the rising environmental movement. BY MARK S. LESNEY AND RANDALL FREY

AIDS, ARTERIES, AND ENGINEERING

Epidemics and entrepreneurs
An incurable retrovirus epidemic and rising biotechnology fever took center stage in pharmaceutical development. BY CHRISTOPHER S. W. KOEHLER

HARNESSING GENES, RECASTING FLESH

Closing the Pharmaceutical Century
Global genomic initiatives and marvels of miniaturization set the stage for a new century of “better living through biotechnology. BY MARK S. LESNEY AND JENNIFER B. MILLER 

ORGANIZATIONAL PORTRAITS - COMPANIES - AGENCIES

Brief histories of key players in the Pharmaceutical Century.

THE NEXT PHARMACEUTICAL CENTURY

The future
Experts predict that genomics, gene therapy, and rejuvenative therapy will play major roles in medicine’s future. BY CELIA M. HENRY

ADVERTISERS INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS